Chains That Bind Me
by SharkBaitoooooh
Summary: She is a princess that wishes she was anything but. The chains that bind her to that life are destined to bring her back whether she wants to or not. A storybook ending is hard to achieve but even harder to defy. Can the mysterious man who speaks of dragons save her, or will he become a just chapter in the prince and princess's storybook? -under construction-
1. Chains

**One upon a time, there lived a beautiful princess and a charming prince.**

The castle's grand ballroom bustled loudly with a rare mixture of rowdy townsfolk, elegant noblemen, and even a few mages. It has become a tradition in the divine kingdom of Fiore, for only one night each year, ranks were forgotten and everyone celebrated the joyous day as equals. Well, with the exception of the royal family.

Boys and girls of all ages eagerly gathered in the center of the chandelier-lit room to partake in festive dances while others sat on the sidelines engaging in warm conversations with new friends. 'Astounding' would be the only word capable of describing such an atmosphere.

A small frown graced princess Lucy's plump lips as she watched more and more people fill the marble hall. The amount of change everyone goes through each year never fails to dazzle the young woman, It's what she looks forward to all year.

Her chocolate eyes fell on an old woman dancing gracelessly with a young boy. Both had cheesy smiles glued to their faces and laughed as though there was not a single worry in the universe. She loved seeing such sincere expressions from her people.

'I want to talk to them.' She thought sadly. For someone of her rank that would be, improper, outrageous ... Impossible.

A light tap on the shoulder drew Lucy's attention from the robust crowd to a man who reeked of strong colognes.

"Are you having a good time, Princess?" He asked flirtatiously.

Lucy recognized the man immediately. Loke, a textbook prince who was the very definition of, sexy, charming, cool, handsome, smooth and so on. He's loved and adored by all, Especially the women.

He is also the man Lucy is to marry tomorrow morning.

"Yes." She replied coldly.

Now, Lucy was told since birth, that one day she would marry a Prince and, she happily accepted her fate, for a little while at least. You see as the years went by, that heart-wrenchingly romantic future of love and happiness, turned into a bitter fate that selfishly chained her to a life of captivity.

Lucy Heartfillia, princess of Fiore, would marry a man she met less than a week ago, who she knew nothing about.

He could give her anything she could possibly ask for, clothes, jewelry, anything. No, Lucy would never ask for those things because she wasn't interested in any of that meaningless garbage. What Lucy wanted, what he couldn't give her is simply, freedom.

Lucy would never fall in love with Loke, he just wasn't her cup of tea. Her heart would never get the chance to skip a beat, butterflies would never dance inside of her tummy.

Lucy's eyes drifted back to the townsfolk once again, thinking about such things, it only made her hurt more.

"Who're you calling stupid, you little asshole!"

Lucy blinked, returning from her own bitter thoughts. Her warm brown eyes drifted to the entrance, where the loud yell came from, freezing on a single individual

A man with striking salmon pink hair strode past the crowds of people with a vicious scowl resting across his features.

'He's staring at me' She thought to herself.

His amber eyes bore into her chocolate ones, challenging her to their own sadistic game. They radiated with intensity and animalistic hunger. It seemed almost sinful to look at then for even a second longer, but Lucy just couldn't pull away.

'Am I melting?' She thought as a scorching heat began to envelop her insides, it's as if her veins flowed with fire.

Her eyes hazed and her cheeks turned a deep red under his firm gaze. "It's hot." She mumbled under her breath.

The man raised an eyebrow at her as a victorious grin formed on his lips, almost as if he could hear her. Yeah, right.

She couldn't take it anymore, she had to look away. It was just too much.

He gave off a completely different aura compared than the others.

Like a bomb ready to go off at any second

Lucy took a deep breath, returning her gaze to the pink haired man, but, he was no longer there.

* * *

The Moon shone it's light upon the quiet kingdom, not a single sound, not even a mouse, could be heard. The people slept peacefully in their homes, resting for the long-awaited marriage ceremony between their beloved Princess and the handsome Prince. The morning would come soon and the people of Fiore found a warmth in that fact. They slept happily in their beds, dreaming sweet dreams of adventure and prosperity through out the cold night.

Lucy, however, wished the sun would never rise again, and time would stop for the rest of eternity.

She looked to the twinkling stars as she had many nights before for some sort of guidance. However, as the same as countless nights before, they merely winked at her as if tempting the young blonde to follow them.

If she could, she would. The King has always been careful when it came to keeping Lucy where she needed to be.

'Why can't I be a star?' she mused.

A small light appeared in Lucy's peripheral vision, dragging her attention away from the teasing stars. It shone through the dense trees casting warm colors of red, yellow and orange into the dark night sky.

Lucy's imagination ran wild with curiosity and intrigue. She pictured a group of adventurers sitting around a small fire laughing and cheering happily as their bodies tingled with the excitment.

A warm smile graced her lips for only seconds, before vanishing with the comforting light.

Lucy brought her knees up to her chest and let a trail of warm tears fall from her face, wishing the fire would return. Her situation was real, there was no escaping it. The only thing she would do was sit there and wait.

Somebody, anybody, "Help me..." She whimpered softly.

"What is that!" A guard screamed from his post.

Lucy's glossy chocolate eyes followed a fast-moving object as it shot up from the trees.

It hovered for a couple seconds before sloppily flying in different directions, the miserable princess gasped at the unnatural movement. It couldn't be a bird, no bird moves like that nor do they have arms and legs. "What in the world?" Lucy leaned her body out of the window a bit to get a better look at the creature.

"What in the world?" Lucy leaned her body out of the window a bit to get a better look at the creature.

It looked, human?

"Fire Dragon's!" Lucy covered her ears as a deafening scream pierced her ears.

"ROAR!" She watched in horror as a stream of fire ripped through the night sky, devouring anything that stood in its way. Unfortunately, it was the castle.

"Wah!" She screamed as the blast sent her body flying across the room and into a brick wall. She propped her body up slowly as to not cause more pain to surge through her aching form.

No, That thing couldn't be human, no human had such catastrophic power.

This was bad, really bad.


	2. The Nest

**_One day, something terrible happened._**

Fiore's once beautiful castle lay in ruins from last night's attack. The acres of land it sat on for nearly six hundred years was now blanketed by a thick layer of ash and debris.

It looked like a war zone, though, even calling it that was pushing it. Last night was a nightmare for all of Fiore and created a mournful silence throughout the kingdom.

Not a single soul would forget the way the sky lit up as a barrage of hellish blasts pierced through the castle. Nor would they forget the endless wall of flames that engulfed the structure whole and burned incessantly until there was virtually nothing left.

On the bright side, the village surrounding the castle is untouched by the havoc. However, the kingdom's people harbored a new kind of fear and anger that consistently ate at their minds.

The army and mages from different towns assembled at the castle soon after the incident and began planning a strategy to defeat the unknown monster.

"Lisanna, Elfman and Levy will go south and get information from the people of Hargeon." The knight, Erza, commanded while placing a small orange flag onto a large map of Fiore. "An attack similar to this one happened less than a week ago, though not as catastrophic."

"Why would someone want to attack there?" Lisanna, a mage from oak town, questioned.

"Hargeon is a port side town where the kingdom's goods get shipped out and received" A short woman with blue hair, Levy, explained.

"Was it the same attacker?" a low ranking mage questioned.

"I believe that they are different, however, we need more data to be sure. Finding out this information is vital if we want to stop this monster." Levy raised a single brow as she scanned over the document from the people of Hargeon. "We can not afford to mess up here. This is the best shot we have at getting more information."

"More? When did we have any to begin with?" Freed added.

"Last night the beast let out some sort of roar which temporarily impaired the hearing of everyone within its radius . However, people outside of the castle and surrounding village claimed to have made out words." Levy closed her eyes as she thought back to what they had said "Fire dragons roar".

"Dragon?"

"Erza!" The group turned to the back of the room, where the door had been slammed open. "I want this beast captured, NOW! Why haven't our troops been sent out yet!"

"Prince Loki, we have no idea where or who this thing is and what its motives are. Until we find out more information we can't do anything." Jellal informed the raging prince.

"What about Lucy!" Loki screamed.

The room went completely silent.

"I said, what about Lucy!" Loki repeated irritably.

* * *

Lucy rested her aching head against her palm, getting thrown against a wall really did a number on her.

But, more importantly, where is she?

She took a deep breath before shifting her throbbing head to the left where a small fireplace sat. Lucy breathed in the welcoming scent of burning wood and relaxed at the nosological sound of crackling logs. The small fire cast a dim, flickering, light into the room which unfortunately allowed Lucy to see its horrible state.

"It's empty..." Lucy whispered to herself. Not only that, but the ceiling leaked water from several different areas so the fire wasn't as effective in warming her up. Oh. what she would do for a blanket right now.

"Where am I?" she sighed.

"A dragon's nest." A male voice announced.

'A man?' She squinted her eyes at a dark mass in the opposite corner to her, the fire's light didn't reach that far so it was hard to make out anything. 'is he trapped here too?'

"That's ridiculous, dragons have been extinct for hundreds of years now." The male scoffed at her response, shuffling noisily around his side of the room.

"What would a spoiled princess like you know about that?"

'How rude' She stomped her bare foot against the damp floor "I've read books about it!"

"Books?" He laughed heartily at her "Have you even stepped out of that castle before today?"

Lucy huffed angrily. What's the point of getting into an argument with this guy anyway? "Is there any way out?"

"No" The man stated simply as he moved into the light.

Salmon colored hair... "You're the boy from the party, right?" She stood from her spot on the ground, stepping closer to him.

'It has to be him, there's no mistaking him'

"You have a pretty good memory" He looked back at her, grinning sheepishly. "The name is, Natsu, Natsu Dragneel"

"Na-tsu...?"

What is he doing here?


	3. A Bond

_**The princess had been captured by a fearsome dragon!**_

Lucy pushed the large wooden door with every ounce of strength she had in her, but it wouldn't budge even an inch "Why" She pushed again "Won't it budge!" The door was either heavier than it looked or was blocked with something.

She wasn't able to check outside either since both windows were boarded shut with several large planks of wood. There was no telling where she is.

Lucy gulped, accidently making eye contact with Natsu.

'He's looking at me weird.' she noticed.

The busty blonde reluctantly returned to the opposite side of the room, clutching the hem of her short satin nightdress. She has so many questions, one of them being why he was imprisoned with her.

Lucy eyed the pink haired individual skeptically. She noticed his right arm first, unlike the left it was sleeveless and hidden by layers of white bandages. Curiously enough, it didn't seem to be injured as he was able to move it around effortlessly.

Lucy wondered whether or not she should ask him about the bandages, probably not

His gold trimmed overcoat hugged his body just enough to tempt her mind into imagining what's underneath. and, god did her imagination piece together that puzzle nicely. She could tell he worked hard to achieve his toned body. There was not a single doubt in her mind that he excelled in many different forms of combat.

The princess's body tensed up as her eyes came to Natsu's face. A deep scar rested on the side of his right cheek. The wound caused a pang of sadness to run through her body, surely that isn't the only scar he has.

She shook her head lightly, quickly getting the thoughts out of her head.

Nearly everything about this man screamed 'dangerous'. Now, don't get her wrong, Lucy has never been the type to judge a book by its cover. Natsu could be the most normal guy on the planet for all she knew.

However, under such circumstances, she didn't get the luxury of getting to know him, let alone trust him.

Lucy's attention fell on the odd white scarf wrapped around his neck, it looked to be made of some kind of scales. 'Scales...Dragon...Could he have...' Lucy gasped as her mind pieced together a far-fetched explanation.

"Natsu, where did you get that scarf from?" If he wasn't lying about being in a dragon's nest then it's possible he could be a hunter. The blonde could clearly remember the books she read of the honorable men who vanquished dragons hundreds of years ago. They were called hunters, men that overcame the beasts of the land. That would explain why he was there.

"It's none of your business."

"Are you a hunter?" Lucy prodded. "Maybe we can get out of here afterall."

"What did you just say?" Natsu's eyes narrowed on the princess.

"I read it in a book, hundreds of years ago there were hunters who killed dragons for a living. For su-" Lucy's deep brown eyes widened as the sudden sensation of warmth caressed her body. Honestly, It felt nice since she was freezing before.

Unfortunately, the source of that heat unsettled her so much that she could not relish its sweet comfort.

Natsu stood just a few inches from her, she could feel his hot breath brush against her face. He glared down at her smaller form with vicious amber eyes. The pink haired man slammed his left hand on the brick behind her, trapping the confused blonde between himself and the wall.

The image of a hungry predator about to kill its next meal flooded into Lucy's mind. Honestly, it made her quite nervous. but, oddly enough, she just didn't harbor any form of fear for Natsu. Even when he looked like he was about to eat her.

Natsu's almost unrealistically sharp canines bared, threatening to savagely rip her throat out if she so much as flinched, which, even if she wasn't scared, Lucy decided it was best not to test. "I'm going to say this only once so listen closely. I don't want to hear another word about hunters"

Lucy bit her lip, more interested in why she, herself, wasn't cowering in fear of the suddenly aggressive male.

"And, understand, _**princess.**_ The dragon you are dealing will not accept you leaving him. He will hunt you down til the day you die and destroy anyone and anything that get's in his way." Natsu snarled. He then removed his hand from the wall and slid his finger into her hair, grasping a few strands of golden hair between his fingers. "Dragon's don't like losing their treasure."

Lucy grit her teeth together, he's telling her to give up? She was tired of getting told to 'sit back and accept it'. Not again.

"If you're telling me to give up, then I'll make it crystal clear." She propper herslef up on the tips of her toes so that she was on the same eye level as him. "That's not going to happen."

Lucy stood before him in all of her blonde glory, beaming with confidence and an unbreakable will to fight.

It surprised Natsu, to say the least.

"Pffft!" The male's face contorted in a comical way as he attempted to stifle his laughter "You're such a weirdo, what kind of princess are you!"

"W-what..." Lucy watched, shocked, as the man she had earlier deemed 'dangerous' rolled around on the floor laughing hysterically as you would expect from a child. The cold attitude he had towards her completely vanished as though it had never existed in the first place.

"What's your name?" Natsu asked holding his stomach.

"L-Lucy..."

"Lucy..." He echoed affectionatly.

His lips slowly curled upwards in a way that made the princess's heart flip. Almost like magic. Oddly enough, she dared to compare the movement to that of an elegant dancer. The extraordinarily brilliant smile he flashed, seemed to lift all doubt and distrust off of the princess's chest in a matter of seconds.

The warmth that Natsu has made her feel three times now came crashing into her once again. It felt so wonderful.

Nobody has ever smiled at her like that. The young noble recalled the smiles of a certain village couple during the annual celebrations. She would have never thought that such a smile would be aimed at her.

It was satisfying and had just the right amount of sweet and spicy.

Moments later he calmed down from another fit of laughter, taking on a more serious demeanor. "Do you want to know why you're here, Luigi?"

"It's Lucy. And yes, more than anything." Was he not going to be an asshole anymore?

"Look" Natsu softly placed his rough hand under her's, guiding it from her side to the empty space between them.

"W-what is this...when did..." A brand that had the shape of a dragon's head rested on the back of her right hand. It had been a solid red, but was slowly consumed by various colors of flames. its sharp eyes glowed a magnificent golden color under the illumination of reds oranges and yellows. A few intricate detailed markings of fire and scales rested around its blazing eyes, giving it a rather vicious look.

Lucy's chocolate orbs couldn't seem to pull away from the mysterious brand.

"It's called the signo draconis, the sign of the dragon. Each individual dragon has their own special mark." He pointed at her hand "That belongs to the flame dragon."

"Flame dragon?" Lucy raised a brow at the pink haired man "Then why do I have it?"

"It's a bond that connects you and that dragon. The mark helps the dragon find you, but there's more to it, I'm sure. My father, Igneel, only taught me the basics, so I don't know much else" Natsu scratched the back of his head. "To tell you the truth, I didn't think it was anything more than a myth, until a week ago."

"I don't want to be connected to a dragon!" Lucy whined, puffing out her cheeks.

Natsu crossed his arms over his chest, watching the blonde carefully.

"Wait, Your father was he a hunter too?" Lucy clasped her hands over her mouth. She was expecting some kind of backlash from the pink haired man, but it never came.

She was expecting some kind of backlash from the pink haired man, but it never came.

Natsu let out an exasperated sigh "No. Hunters are the worst of the worst. Their group exploited a dragon's heart and forced them to take their own lives. Anyone affiliated with that group was wiped out hundreds of years ago, by a dragon without a heart."

"Then what happened to the dragons if they weren't killed? There hasn't been one sighting for hundreds of years."

"Most dragons moved to a distant land to escape the bad memories." Natsu chuckled lightly. "Only seven dragons are left in Fiore now."

"Seven dragons! How are we even supposed to defeat one!"

"We don't."

"But Nat-" Natsu smirked at Lucy, walking to the large wooden door on the other side of the room. He effortlessly pushed the wooden door open, exposing a brightly lit room. "We can leave!" Lucy cheered happily, hiding her light deprived eyes from the sudden brightness.

"Not exactly."

"What?"

"You thought I was a hunter, but I'm not." Natsu began unraveling the bandages around his arm, letting the white cloth fall to the floor.

"Natsu?" Lucy's heart dropped as last bit of bandage slowly drift to the cold hard floor. She would have never expected what was underneath. 'It's like mine...'

"You're the..." Natsu closed the door behind him before Lucy could finish. She fell to her knees, looking at the spot Natsu had been, stunned. "Dragon..."

* * *

"That was exhausting!" Natsu breathed, letting his body fall into the comfort of his hammock.

"Aye! I didn't think you'd be able to keep up the act!" A little blue cat perched himself atop the man's pink locks.

"I'm going to keep her." Natsu grinned childishly.

"You liikkkkeeee her" The cat purred.

"She's a weirdo." He shrugged, leaping off of the hammock.

"We should move her to a different room and get her some clothes and food." The cat suggested.

"How about we let her cool down for a bit." Natsu shuddered nervously at the thought of a fuming blonde.

* * *

 _ **A/N -Review review reviewwww Don't make prostitute myself off for them guys!**_


	4. Her Will

A/N I'd really like to take a moment to tell you all that I appreciate your support so much! Thank you and enjoy! :)

* * *

 _ **The terrified princess waited for her brave prince to save her from the terrifying beast.**_

Three uneventful days passed since then. Lucy spent most of them in deep thought. However, she did take time to converse with a certain blue furred cat each day.

At first Happy would simply bring her meals and escort her to the restroom when she needed but, as the days went by the cat and princess grew on each other.

Natsu found it odd how quickly the two formed such a strong bond. He wouldn't admit it, but he was jealous of his furry friend. There was nothing but tense silence and awkwardness between himself and Lucy for the past three days.

"You'll be staying here." Natsu gestured for Lucy to enter the open doorway.

It's small but far better than what she had been living in for the past three days. The room's well lit with a sturdy lantern and a nice size fireplace, definitely warmer than the other room. Natsu himself ensured that not a single drop of water would be able to sneak in.

He also made sure she had all the necessary furniture, a queen sized bed, a simple wooden desk, a chair, and one wardrobe. The windows weren't covered with wooden planks in this room, but instead, thick metal bars.

Natsu put a lot of effort into the room so that Lucy would be comfortable. She'll be happy with it, at least that's what he hoped.

"You can come and go as you please, but, the first floor is off limits to you." A frown settled on Natsu's face, she still refused to acknowledge him.

'Damnit' Natsu cursed to himself. At first, her little game was fun and entertaining. But, it quickly got extremely annoying.

Sure, he took her from a luxurious castle in the middle of the night, destroyed said castle and stored her in a leaky room for a couple of days. Oh, he also didn't come out right away and tell her who he was, pretty much making her believe he was her ally and then backstabbing her.

But, that still didn't give her the right to ignore him.

"If you have any questions, I'll answer them to the best of my ability." Lucy's continuous silence only upset Natsu further. He offered her answers for fuck sake.

"My room is right down the hall if you need me." The dragon boy informed as he scratched the back of his neck. 'She is a stubborn one, that's for sure.' He noted mentally.

After a few moments of silence, he decided to leave the blonde alone.

He then turned his heel, sneering at the woman before closing the wooden door behind him. A scowl set across his face as he strode down the torch lit corridor to his own room.

"She talks to me." Happy grinned, perching himself atop his friend's shoulder.

"I want you to watch over her while I'm gone," Natsu ordered coldly. "Make sure she doesn't go on the first floor."

"Aye!" Happy chirped before taking off to the princess's room.

* * *

Lucy stared out of the window, past the metal bars. She couldn't tell much about the place she was in except that it had multiple stories. Her room is on the seventh.

Outside, she saw that the building is surrounded by a thick forest of green trees and past that sat a few large mountains. There's not a single village anywhere in sight. 'Fiore must be on the other side of the mountains.' She noted.

Something moved in the corner of her eye, dragging her away from the landscape. She squinted at the object as it started to enter the dense forest.

"Natsu?" She questioned aloud. And, as if he were able to hear her, Natsu suddenly whipped around to look up at her window.

Seconds went by before Natsu pulled his eyes from the window and continued his path into the woods.

"Lucy!" Happy yelled as he flew into the blondes plump bosom.

The surprised woman smiled softly and wrapped her arms around the small cat. "I missed you, Happy."

When she first met him, Lucy was very skeptical of whether he was real or just a figment of her imagination. After all, a talking cat isn't something you see every day. In time, however, she accepted that Happy was indeed very real and very vocal, especially when it came to his opinion on her weight. He got on her nerves, but, she welcomed his company with open arms.

"How do you like your room?" He asked.

Lucy grinned down at him before falling back onto her new plush bed. "It's better than the other one, that's for sure." Lucy grimaced as she recalled the small cot drenched in rain water. How anybody managed to sleep on such a horrible thing for long periods of time, she would never know.

"Why don't you talk to Natsu?" Happy asked curiously as he sat atop one of the pillows on the bed.

Lucy sighed, this isn't the first time he asked that. "He kidnapped me."

"That's not how I see it, and neither does Natsu."

"taking someone from their home against their will is kidnapping!" She yelled.

"Was is really against your 'will' though?" He grinned sheepishly "You're too weird to be a princess, I bet people thought were a jester or something."

"Shut up, stupid cat!" Lucy huffed.

Then again, he had a point. She never really belonged there and if it wasn't for her getting kidnapped, she would be married to a man she barely knew.

Lucy didn't have to act like anyone other than herself here which was actually quite refreshing. But still, a prison is a prison.

And, she is going to escape.

"Where is Natsu going?" She changed the subject.

"Probably checking out the area for intruders."

"When do you think he'll be back? I want to talk to him." She lied.

"In a few hours probably." He yawned.

"Let's get some sleep before he gets back then." She smiled as she snuggled into the warm white comforter.

"Aye."

* * *

"Great!" Loki shouted as he barged into the mages meeting hall "It's been three days and we still haven't got a clue about where she is!"

"That's not true." Levy blurted out from one of the tables. "We have discovered several things about our enemy from our visit to Hargeon and Shirosume."

"Obviously not enough if we haven't found Lucy." Loki breathed, noticing the other mages gather round.

"No, but it's a step closer to finding her." Erza crossed her arms over her chest, glancing back at Levy.

"We are dealing with dragons," Levi stated, making sure to emphasize the s.

"How many!"

"There is more than one?"

"What do we do!"

Levy waited patiently for gasps and whispers of everyone in the room to die down before she continued, "We know of three so far, the fire dragon that took our princess, the iron dragon that attacked Hargeon and the light dragon that destroyed Shirosume just yesterday."

"Witnesses that travel into Mt. Hakobe informed us of odd phenoniums involving Iron beams appearing at random." Erza cleared her throat " This could very well be the iron dragon, and if we find it then maybe we can find the flame dragon and our princess."

"We need a team of five skilled mages to investigate." Jellal announced.

"I'll be the leader" Erza declared. "Four more"

A shirtless man with black hair sighed loudly before raising his hand up high, "I'm in."

"If Gray-sama goes, Juvia wants to go too!" The blue haired woman, Juvia, gripped Gray's arm tightly while raising her free hand to mimic his.

"I will not stand for any _funny business_ on this trip." Erza glared at the two.

Gray grimaced at the implication "We aren't a couple" He muttered while snatching his arm back from the love-struck woman.

"That's three," Jellal said, returning the conversation to the subject it should be on. "Two more."

"What about you Levy?" Erza turned back to the blue-haired woman.

"I-I'm not that strong of a mage." She stammered.

"That makes four." Erza announced.

"But-" Levy sighed not wanting to go against the scarlet haired woman's decision. Erza was scary sometimes.

"I'll go too" Loki pushed his glasses up to hide his nervousness "For Lucy"

"Okay, we head out tomorrow morning."

* * *

Lucy stepped out of the fort cautiously. The chill air hit her full causing her to shiver violently."It's cold." Lucy murmured under her breath before sprinting as fast as her bare feet would let her.

'Fiore is just past those mountains!'

* * *

 ** _A/N ;) Hope you guys enjoyed that ! I have some BIG & AMAZING things planned for next chapter so stay tuned and remember to R&R_**


	5. Prisoner

A light breeze swept through the dense trees, stirring the creatures within. The forest at night was terrifying, but there was a certain kind beauty to it all that sent chills up and down Lucy's body. An old owl cooed from its perch while leaves rustled from branches and crickets hummed from the ground. She imagined the mixture of sounds to be a sweet song, one she's never heard before. The song of freedom.

Lucy spotted a rather nice place to take a break, a rock which was about four feet high and flat on top. Perfect.

As she planted her behind atop her resting spot as she examined her feet. The sting from popped blisters and fresh cuts grew even more painful than from when she was walking. "I should have tried to find shoes before leaving." She scolded herself before deciding it would be best not to stop for long periods of time. Her feet would only hurt more.

A few minutes of walking went by when paranoia began to consume the young princess. The forest went completely still, not a single hoot, rustle, or howl could be heard. She felt as though someone or something was watching her.

A loud crunch echoed through the silence and sent a wave of panic through the blonde. Lucy picked up her pace which soon turned into a full-on sprint. She ran in a zigzag pattern through the thick trees in an attempt to lose whatever it was.

She swiftly swung her body around and let her eyes scour the area. 'It can't be Natsu.' She thought to herself, 'It's probably just a bunny or something.' Just as she finished the thought a small animal scurried out of a nearby bush and into a small hole.

"Oh thank god." Lucy gripped the material over her chest and sighed as both embarrassment and relief washed over her.

She turned back around to continue her escape, taking it a bit slower so that her sore feet could adjust from the sprint "There's no way he'd be able to find-"

Lucy yelped as her body collided with something hard. Her arms reached out for anything to hold onto, but unfortunately, Lucy wasn't that lucky. Her body never smashed into the cold dirt like she'd thought, but instead, water.

Now, it was around midnight in the middle of autumn. The water wasn't just cold, it was freezing.

Lucy couldn't see anything but pitch black darkness underneath the water, which terrified her, it was like all feeling and directional awareness suddenly stopped working. It only lasted seconds, but to Lucy, it lasted an eternity. As soon as she popped her head out of the icy lake she hoisted herself back onto land.

the word 'Hypothermia' repeated itself in Lucy's head over and over again, she had to get somewhere warm or else.

However, her body was shaking so much that it was had for her to move at all. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks, she was in serious danger.

"Lucy." Her heart jumped at the stern voice that called her name.

"No!"She screamed before making a run for it, though, she only got a few feet before the pain in her feet and freezing limbs refused to let her go any further.

Honestly, the smart thing to do would obviously be to let him take her back to warmth and safety. However, Lucy's mind was a haze from the rapid heat loss and she couldn't think rationally.

"Hey!" Natsu called, concerned.

"Leave me alone!" Lucy forced herself to go on and ran as fast she could, disregarding the pain that shot through her body.

"What do you think you're doing?" He appeared in front of her in a flash with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I s-said l-leave me alone!" She yelled through her chattering teeth before turning to run, only, instead of running her body hit the floor. Her limbs were too cold to go any further.

"If you wanted to swim, I could have taken you in the day weirdo." Natsu squatted down next to her shivering form.

"I-I fe-ell i-in." Lucy hissed. "H-how d-did you f-f-find me?"

"How about we get you back first." He touched her shoulder lightly and his eyes widened instantly. He could actually feel how cold she was, and that was extremely abnormal for him.

He needed to get her warmed up, immediately.

"Y-You can't take me back!" She screamed hysterically and somehow managed to get her body off the ground and moving again.

God she's persistent.

"We need to warm you up, do you want to die?" Natsu growled angrily, the situation was dire and she still insisted on being stubborn.

"I-I d-don't ca-care!" She yelled back "I-I'm si-sick o-of it!"

"Sick of what?" He asked curiously, walking behind her as she continued her attempt to get away.

Lucy fell to the ground face first and merely seconds later she got up and continued once again. There was no way she was going to get away, she knew that. But, still. "I-I'm sick of being a p-p-prisoner." Tears streamed down her freezing cheeks and whimpers leaked from her blue lips. her head ached and her vision began to blur.

She began to lose consciousness.

Natsu clicked his tongue, fed up with her resistance. The pinkette snapped his fingers causing a wall of brilliant flames to appear in front the blonde.

"P-please." She pleaded as her body shook vigorously from the cold. Her legs gave out completely and she fell to her knees.

Warmth enveloped her back and quickly consumed her whole body. She looked down to see two strong arms wrapped around her waist tightly.

"You aren't my prisoner" He assured softly.

She whimpered, giving up and letting herself fall into the warmth he offered before completely losing consciousness.

As soon as Natsu felt Lucy's body go limp against him he gently snaked his arms beneath her knees and back easily lifting her off the ground.

'She's getting colder' He noted before raising his own body temperature to help her warm up faster.

"Let's go home, Luce."

* * *

"I'm sorry." Happy apologized through tears, watching as Natsu placed Lucy's body onto a plush chair. "I didn't mean to feel asleep."

"Don't worry about it" He flashed a reassuring smile at his friend.

The dragon then returned his eyes to the princess. He stared down at the soaked, translucent, material that clung to Lucy's unconscious body then to her blood covered feet. "Can you get her a change of clothes and the first aid kit?"

"Aye!" Happy sniffled before flying off to retrieve the items.

"Mmmmmn~" Lucy lightly stirred, her shivers returning.

"Never thought I'd find someone more reckless than me." Natsu spoke aloud, hovering his heated hands barely centimeters over the beauties forhead to start warming her up again.

"For a princess, you sure are a weirdo," He chuckled at his comment.

His hands moved from her cheeks, to her neck, and stopped once they were hovering over the large mounds on her chest.

Igneel taught him about the lumps, he called them, "Boobs" Natsu spoke aloud. According to Igneel, they are greatest things to exist, even greater than food.

'Maybe they are food' Natsu thought.

He suddenly felt the urge to grab them but decided against it, for now. "Maybe when she wakes up." He smirked.

Natsu's onyx eyes then fell to her right hand. He stared at the mark intensely for several seconds, a frown resting on his face.

"You aren't my prisoner" He murmured as he recalled her desperate voice from earlier.

Impulsively, Natsu pressed his lips lightly against the mark, his mark, on her right hand "You're my mate."

There was no way in hell he'd let her go, but, he also refused to make such bitter tears cloud her eyes ever again. So, what was he to do?

"Natsu-san" A voice snapped him out of his conflicted thoughts.

"What is it, Sting?" Natsu replied, bot bothering to look at the younger man as he brushed a stray piece of hair from Lucy's face.

"Sorry to interrupt you but..." Sting glanced at the unconscious woman from over Natsu's shoulder "It that her?"

"Yeah," Natsu confirmed. "This is Lucy Heartfillia."

"She's prettier than I thought she'd be." Sting teased.

"Why are you here?" Natsu asked, not letting his eyes stray from the blonde woman's face.

"Oh, Right!" Sting snapped his fingers "We have a problem."

* * *

 _ **A/N Thank you for reading! I appreciate all your support and wish you all a wonderful day! Also, I'm sorry about any repeat paragraphs, It happens randomly in different places for some reason so I miss it when I make last minute changes. I'll be sure to look over it after those last minute changes as well. Thank you, I really appreciate the help you guys give me so that I can improve our story!**_


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